1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling an illumination range of vehicle lights and a method thereof, and in particular to an apparatus for controlling an illumination range of a vehicle headlight and a method thereof.
2. Background Art
Various types of apparatus are known as vehicle light control apparatus. For example, in an apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 1, a field of view ahead of the vehicle is picked up by a camera and it is determined whether or not another vehicle is present in the region of the field of view. Further, when the other vehicle is determined to be present, the illumination range of the headlights is changed so as to be narrowed.
Patent Literature 1 JP-A-2011-037342
However, the light control apparatus described in Patent Literature 1 mentioned above still has a problem to be solved. For example, when another vehicle runs past the vehicle equipped with the light control apparatus (hereinafter just referred to as the vehicle), such as when the vehicle is overtaken by the other vehicle, the problem arises. Specifically, when another vehicle runs past the vehicle and pulls in front of the vehicle (enters the illumination range of the headlights), the illumination range of the headlights is changed to a narrow range after the other vehicle has actually pulled in front of the vehicle. Therefore, there is a delay in controlling the illumination range of the headlights and thus the driver of the other vehicle may be dazzled.